Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 11 October 2018

Happy Thursday to all, and we hope it has so far been a good day.  We hope so, truly.

Wife was feeling a teeny bit better this morning.  A bit less so now, but she's gotten to spend most of the day with the feet elevated.  Niece next door had to work today.  Her husband was off last night and tonight, so the plan was for him to spend time with the Little Guy and then we'd take over while he did whatever else he had in mind.  But evidently he opted to have a father-son day, so we were clear.  Niece is off until Monday at least, so we are clear of that blessing/obligation for a few days I guess.  Gives wife a breather:  a 15 month old boy can be quite a  handful.  He is, surely.  We had daughters, and boys really are different and, no, it's not the "just a social construct" that the SJW lunatics claim. 

So we shall have another quiet evening at home, just the two of us.  Some might find that boring.  But Wife and I spent too many years working odd and very long hours, years in which we were struggling to get by, and to spend whatever time we could as parents to the girls, as well as our other obligations.  Even after the girls were both gone, we worked opposite shifts often, and LOOONG hours, and I was under the obligations attendant to being a deacon in a local church as well as the only adult Bible teacher, and also take care of Wife as her illnesses progressed.  So the last couple years of just the two of us have allowed us to try to catch up.  She's been a blessing to so many, but now sometimes it's hard for her to do the things she, and most of us, would regard as "normal".

Sometimes it gets hard.  Neither of us had an easy life.  I've been homeless.  She's been close to it.  We've seen some tough times, but together it's been better though a close call at times.  Still not a whole lot of "slack" there as most people measure things, but we're blessed.  God is good.  And we retain the awareness that there is a reason for all of this.
Song of the day;  The Lord Is Our Refuge And Strength.   Check Psalm 46.  Not a bad "life song".


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Jeremiah 17

1The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

2Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.

3O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

4And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

5Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

6For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

7Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

11As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

12A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

13O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

14Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

15Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.

16As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

17Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

18Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

19Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

25Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

26And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord.

27But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Jeremiah 18

1The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

3Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

5Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

6O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

7At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

8If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

9And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

10If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

11Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.

12And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

13Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.

14Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

15Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;

16To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.

17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

18Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

19Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.

20Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

21Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

23Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

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More in Ecclesiastes.  There is a good bit of wisdom here.


Ecclesiastes 2

The Emptiness of Pleasure

1I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile. 2I said about laughter,  “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish? ” 3I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life  with wine  and how to grasp folly  — my mind still guiding me with wisdom — until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven  during the few days of their lives. 

The Emptiness of Possessions

4I increased my achievements. I built houses  and planted vineyards  for myself. 5I made gardens  and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6I constructed reservoirs of water for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.  7I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house.  I also owned many herds of cattle and flocks, more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.  8I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.  I gathered male and female singers for myself,  and many concubines, the delights of men.   9So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem;  my wisdom also remained with me. 10All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them.  I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.  11When I considered all that I had accomplished  and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind.  There was nothing to be gained under the sun. 

The Relative Value of Wisdom

12Then I turned to consider wisdom,  madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He  will do what has already been done.  13And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness. 

14The wise man has eyes in his head,

but the fool walks in darkness. 

Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.  15So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise? ”  And I said to myself that this is also futile. 16For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man,  since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool? 17Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The Emptiness of Work

18I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. 19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20So I began to give myself over  to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun. 21When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill,  and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong. 22For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? 23For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful;  even at night, his mind does not rest.  This too is futile.

24There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy   his work.  I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,  25because who can eat and who can enjoy life  apart from Him?  26For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,  but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight.  This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. 

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Philemon

1Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

2And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

3Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,

5Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;

6That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

7For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

8Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,

9Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

10I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

11Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:

12Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

13Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:

14But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.

15For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

16Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?

17If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

18If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;

19I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

20Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

21Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.

22But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.

23There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;

24Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellowlabourers.

25The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.